Machine for making decorative paper strips



Aug. 28, 1945.

P. A. HILLIARD MACHINE FOR MAKING DECORATIVE P'APER STRIPS Filed Sept. 28, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 28,1945. P. A. HlLLlARD 2,383,797

MACHINE FOR MAKING DECORATIVE PAPER STRIPS Filed sept.' 28, 1943 3 Shets-Shee 2 Aug. 28, 19-45. P. A HILLIARD MACHINE FOR MAKING DECORATIVE PAPER STRIPS Filed Sept. '28, I943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PAT v i V MaI?I 1:: ;;ooR r1vErnPER I MACHINE FOR or Fl CE. i i

Perley A. Hilliard, Newton center, Mass,-

Application September 28, 1943, Serial No.-504,1 39 I 3.

v 8 claims. -,(Cl. 93-1) This invention relates to a machine 'forjcrirnp ing paper and especially to a machine adapted to crimp one edge of a strip of paper, thereby'to provide a paper strip having a crimped or ruffiededge which is eminently suitable for use in decorating boxes and baskets such as are used as containers for confections, etc. v

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a machine constructed to cut transversely extending slits in one edge of a strip of paper, thereby to form finger-like sections, and then'to. crimp the end portion of each finger-like section, thereby to give the edge of the strip a ruf fled appearance. 7

Other objects of theinvention areto provide certain novel features in paper crimping machines which will be more fully hereinafterset forth and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings wherein I have illustrated a' selected embodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a paper crimping machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the product of the machine and the manner in which the strip of paper is cut and crimped.

Referring first to Fig. 5, 3 indicates a strip of paper, and said figure illustrates the manner in which said strip is cut and crimped'to produce the desired product. 7 I

A series of. transversely extending-cuts or slits 4 are made in the paper strip 3, said slits extending from the edge 5 toward the centre. These slits produce fingerlike sections 6. Meansare provided for gripping each section 6 along each edge adjacent its free end, and then the central portion 8 of the free end of the strip is forced inwardly to a point beyond the places where the finger section is gripped, thereby to crimp the end as shown in Fig. 5. ..Th'is producesv two operates in a slot l3'with which the bed is provided'and which cooperates with a ledger blade 14 thatforms one wall of said slot. This knife I2 iscarried by a rock shaft I3 which is pivot- 1 ally mounted-in bearings 14 carried by the frame and said knife] is formed on its under face with a cutting edge {5.

The strip'3 of paper isfed over the bed I l with an intermittent or a step-by-step movement which carries any portion of the strip first to a slitting station where the knife 12 operates and then at a point farther on in the travel of the paper to a crimping station where the edge of the paper is clrimped, thestrip of paper remaining at rest for a short interval'at each station. At each period of rest between forward steps the rock shaft 13 is turned counter-clockwise in Fig. 4, thereby to swing the left-hand end of the knife downward- 1y; during which movement the cutting edge l5 cooperates with the ledger blade 14 to cut a slit 4 in the edge; of the strip 3. Any suitable means for giving the knife its operative movement may be employed without departing from the invention. In the construction shown, the shaft 13 has rigid therewith arearwardly extending arm l6 which isacted on by acam carried by a cam shaft H, for the purpose'jof raising the said arm l6 and thereby'rocking the shaft l3 to cause the knife l2 to make its cutting'movement. The cam H! which, as'the' disk-l8 rotates counter-clockwise in Figi l engages the under sideof the arm 2' l6 and raises the latter thereby to give the knife bulging portions 9 at the end of each finger section 6, and when the strip has been entirely out and crimped in this way it presents a ruffled ornamental edge. If the paper which is used is'or dinary crepe paper, the crimping or ruilling which is put into the edge of the strip as above de bed portion H over which the strip 3 of paper is fed, the feeding movement vbeing from right'toleft in Figs. 1 and 2. Theslitsd arecut .in the edge of the strip 3 by means of a knife 12 which l2 its cutting movement as above described.

20 indicates a pulling spring which is connected at one endto the arm l6 and at the other end to the frame as shownat2 i said spring operating f to return the knife to its raised position after each actuation thereof.,

As stated above, after each finger section 6 has been formed by the making of one of the slits 4, said finger section is advanced to the crimping station by the step-by ste'p forward feedingi movementfof the strip/and as each finger section-arrives at the crimping station, it is gripped at each edge adjacent its f free end, and while the finger section is so'gripped, the center por- =tion 8' of the free end thereof is forced backwhich is forked at its free end to present two arms wardiyibeyond the points where the finger section is gripped, thereby to produce, the desired crimping effect. 'Ifhegripping of each finger section 6 is accomplished by a hold down device 22 23, each of which is formed with a rubber tip ment by any suitable means.

24. This hold-down device is normally in its raised position above the bed, so that the paper strip can be freely fed beneath it. At the proper time in the operation of the machine, the holddown element 22 is moved downwardly into its lowered operative position in which the two tip ends 24 engage a finger section 6 at its two edges and adjacent its end, thereby clamping the finger section 6 against the bed. The points where the finger section 6 isengaged by the clamping device 24 is indicated in Fig. 5.

Cooperating with the clamping device is means thereto a return spring 42, one end of which is anchored to the frame at 43. This spring tends to move the crimping element 26 forwardly and thus yieldingly holds it in its forward inoperative position shown in Fig. 4.

I have stated above that the strip 3 is fed forward intermittently or with a step-by-step movement. For this purpose there is provided a feed to give the desired crimped effect. Extending transversely of the bed I! and situated beneath the strip 3 is a crimping member 26 in the form of a wire, having its free end bent upwardly and backwardly to form a hook portion 21, This crimping element is located directly beneath the hold-down member 22 and between the two arms 23 thereof. A

While each finger section 6 is being clamped against the bed by the tip portions24 as above described, the crimping element 26 is given a movement transversely of the strip from its inoperative position shown in Fig. 4 to its crimping position shown in Fig. 5, and during this movement of the crimping element 26, the hook 21 thereof engages the end of the finger section 6 at its central portion 8 and forces said central portion inwardly beyond the points where the device 24 engages the finger section, thereby crumpling the end of the finger section and producing the desired crimping effect in the edge of the paper. After the hold-down member 22 and the crimping member 26 have performed their duties, they are returned to their normal position and the paper strip is then moved forwardly another. step.

The hold-down device 22 may be mounted in any suitable way and given its operative move- As herein shown, said hold-down member 22 is pivotally connected to the upper end of two links 28, 29 which are in turn pivoted at their lower ends to the bed as shown at 30 and 3|. The hold-down member has connected thereto a pulling spring 32, one end of which isanchored to the frame at 33. This spring normally holds the hold-down member in its raised position as shown in Fig. 4.

Said member is given its operative clamping movement by means of the cam disk I8, the face or edge of which has the cam portion 34 that engages a roll 35 on the end of the clamping member 22. As the disk [8 rotates, this cam edge 34 acts against the roll 35 and moves the clamping member forwardly, and since said hold-down or clamp member is mounted on the links 28, 29, and since the link 28 is shorter than the link 29,.such forward movement causes the front end of the hold-down to move downwardly into gripping or clamping engagement with a finger section 6 of the paper.

The camdisk I8 is also utilized to give operative movement to the crimping element 26. Said element has a link 36 pivotally connected to its rear end, which link is pivotally connected to the lower end of a lever 31, the upper end of which is pivoted to the frame at 38. The cam disk I8 has a. roller 39 mounted on its side face and as the disk is rotated this roller engages the lever 3! and swings the latter backwardly, thereby giving the operative crimping movement to the crimping member 26. This member 26 has a rearward extension 40 which operates in suitable guides 4|, and said rear extension has connected belt 44 on which the strip 3 rests and which extends around two pulleys 45, 46. The pulley 46 is a driven pulley and is operated intermittently, the pulley 45 being merely a direction pulley. The pulley 46 is fast on a shaft 41 which is journaled in bearings 48 beneath the bed I l and which has fast thereon a bevel gear 49 that meshes with a beveled gear 50 carried by a vertically extending This shaft 5| finds a bearing at its lower, end in a bracket member 52 mounted on the bed and at its upper end it is journaled in a bracket arm 53. The upper end of the shaft 5! carries a beveled gear 54 which is adapted to mesh with a mutilated beveled gear 55, that is fast on the cam shaft IT. This gear 55 has a short section of gear teeth 56 so that at each rotation of the cam shaft I! the gear 54 will be given a turning movement, the extent of which is determined by the length ofthe toothed section 56 of the mutilated gear 55. This is so designed as to give the gear 54 and thus the feed roll 46 the proper turning movement to feed the paper strip forward the desired amount at each forward step. It will be understood, of course, that when the toothed section 56 of the mutilated gear 55 passes out of mesh with the gear 54, said gear 54 will come to rest and will remain at rest until it is again picked up by the toothed section 56.

' shaft which is bent to form the portion 59 at right angles to the portion 58 and the portion 60, which extends parallel to the portion 53. This portion 66 of the shaft is rotatively mounted in bearings 6| carried by the frame. 62 indicates a spring element which presses downwardly on the portion 59 of the bentshaft, thereby yieldingly holding the presser roll 5'! against the paper.

63 indicates a stop element to limit the raising movement of the knife l2. This stop element is shown as mounted in a bracket 64 secured to the bed of the machine and it is situated to be engaged by the back side of the knife as the latter is moved into its raised inoperative position by the spring 2|].

Shaft 13 on which the knife is mounted is capable of slight movement in the direction of its length and it is acted upon by a spring 65 which encircles it and is located between one of the bearings l4 and a collar 66 that is fast to said shaft l3. The purpose of this spring is to maintain the cutting edge l5 of the knife l2 in yielding engagement with the edge of the ledger blade '14 so as to insure that the knife will make a clean 69, with a pulley 10- fast on the cam shaft H.

The operatipn of the machine will be readily understood from the above description, At each rotation of the cam shaft H, the paper strip is fed forwardly one step and, while the strip is at rest after each forward step, the knife I2 is actuated to out a slit 4 in the edge of the strip 3, thereby to form a finger section 6, and. the hold-down 22 and crimping element- 26 cooperate as above described to crimp the end portion of one of the previously formed finger sections 6.

The strip of paper will be delivered from the machine with its edge slit and crimped and with the desired ruflied appearance.

As stated above, a strip ornamented in this way is admirably suited for making May baskets, or for decorating boxes, and for other purposes.

' I claim:

1. An apparatus for making decorative paper strips comprising means tofeed a strip of paper in the direction of its length, means to cut transversely extending slits in one edge of the strip, thereby to form finger-like sections, and means to crimp the end edge portion of eachfinger-like section in the direction of the length thereof.

2. An apparatus for making decorative paper strips comprising means to feed a strip of paper with a step-by-step motion, means operative during each period of rest to cut in one edge of the strip a slit which extends transversely of the strip and part way only across the width thereof, thereby to form a finger-ilke section, and means to crumple the end edge portion of each fingerlike strip.

3. An apparatus of the class described, comprising means to feed a strip of paper in the direction of its length with a step-by-step motion, means to cut in one edge of the strip and during each period of rest a transversely-extending slit which extends part way only across the width of the strip thereby to form a finger-like section, a hold-down to engage each finger-like section during a period of rest, and means cooperating with the hold-down to crumple the end portion of such section while it is engaged by the hold-down.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising a supporting bed, means to feed a strip of paper in the direction of its length over said 'bed, means to cut in one edge of the strip a plurality of transversely extending slits which extend part way only across the width of the strip thereby to form finger-like sections, a hold-down to engage each finger-like section and clamp it against the bed, and means cooperating with said hold-down to crumple the end edge portion of each such section while it is so held.

5. A device of the class described comprising a supporting bed, means to feed a strip of paper in the direction of its length over said bed with a step-by-step motion, a knife cooperating with the bed to cut in one edge of the strip a plurality of transversely extending slits which extend part way only across the width of the strip, thereby to form finger-like sections, and means to crumple the end edge portion of each finger-like section.

6. A device of the class described comprising a supporting bed, means to feed a strip of paper in the direction of its length over said bed with a step-by-step motion, a knife cooperating with the bed to cut in one edge of the strip a plurality of transversely extending slits which extend part Way only across the width of the strip thereby to form finger-like sections, a hold-down to engage each finger-like section and clamp itagainst the bed, and means cooperating with the hold-down to crumple the end edge portion of each such section while it is so held.

7. An apparatus of the class described comprising a supporting bed, means to feed a strip of paper in the direction of its length over said bed with a step-by-step motion, means to cut a transversely extending slit in one edge of the strip during each period of rest thereby to form a finger-like section, a hold-down having two arms to engage each finger-like section adjacent its edges and clamp such section to the bed, a

' means to force the centre part of the end portion one edge of the strip a transversely extending slit while the paper is at rest, thereby to form finger-like sections, and means at the crimping station to crumple the end edge portion of each finger-like section.

PERLEY A. I-HLLIARD. 

